Metallic railroad-crosstie



L. LEVENTRY.

METALLIC RAILROAD CROSSTIEf APPLICATION FILED MAR.20, 1919.

1,331,1 14. Patented Feb. 17,1920.

LOUIS LEVENTRY, 0F JOHNSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

METALLIC RAILROAD-CIROSSTIE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 1'7, 192i).

Application filed March 20, 1918. Serial No. 283,803.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS LEVENTRY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Johnstown, in the county of Cambria and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Metallic Railroad-Crossties, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railroad cross ties and has for its object the provision of a metallic cross tie of simple and durable construction which, when positioned on a road bed, will provide a firm anchorage for the rails and effectually withstand shocks and strains incident to the passage of rolling stock for an indefinite period without material deterioration or the necessity of frequent renewals.

The invention further aims to provide a cross tie having depending anchoring flanges for holding the tie against lateral displacement on the road bed, means being provided for securing the rails to the cross tie without the employment of spikes, bolts or similar track fastenings.

The invention further contemplates the provision of a novel form of clamping member for holding the track rails to their seats in the cross tie, means being provided for adjusting the tension of the clamping member whereby to compensate for excessive .wear on the rails and their seats respectively.

A still further object of the invention is generally to improve this class of devices so as to increase their utility, durability and efficiency.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a metallic cross tie and rail fastener embodying the present invention,

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows, and

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

The improved cross tie forming the subject matter of the present invention comprises a body portion 5 preferably stamped, rolled or otherwise formed from a single sheet of metal and substantially U-shaped in cross section, as best shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The upper longitudinal edges of the metal of which the tie is formed are bent laterally to form longitudinal supporting flanges 6 and connecting said flanges in spaced relation to the opposite ends of the tie and rigidly secured thereto by welding or otherwise, are transverse bed plates 7 on which the rails 8 are supported. Each plate 7 is provided with spaced incisions and the metal between said incisions bent upwardly to form an overhanging flange or lug 9 spaced from the upper surface of the plate to provide a seat 10 for the reception of the base flange 11 of the adjacent rail.

Interposed between the rails 8 is a clamping member 12 preferably formed of a relatively flat downwardly bowed strip of resilient metal, the terminals of which are bifurcated to form upper and lower clamping cars 18 adapted to bear against the upper portion of the base flange of the adjacent rail and the lower face of the adjacent supporting plate 7, respectively, whereby to hold the rails firmly to their seats on the cross tie.

As a means for regulating the tension of the clamping member 12 and thereby conipensate for excessive wear on the rails and their seats respectively, there is provided a wedge 1a which extends through transversely alined openings 15 formed in the side walls of the body portion 5 and bears against the lower face of the member 12 at the center thereof. It will thus be seen that by adjusting the wedge 14 transversely of the cross tie the terminals of the clamping member may be caused to exert greater or less pressure on the inner edges of the rails so as to firmly hold said rails to their seats.

The metal at the bottom of the cross tie is preferably slit or cut longitudinally and the material between said cuts bent down wardly to form depending anchoring flanges 16 adapted to be embedded in the ballast of the road bed and hold the tie against lateral displacement. As the cross tie is hollow the latter may be filled with ballast so as to assist in anchoring the tie on the road bed and owing to the fact that the opposite ends of the tie are open any water which may tend to accumulate within the body of the tie will drain out at the opposite ends thereof.

The cross tie is extremely simple in construction and may be painted or otherwise coated or treated so as to resist the deteriorating action of the elements for an indefinite period and thus dispense with frequent renewals as is the case with an ordinary wood tie.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A railroad cross tie including a hollow body portion provided with rail seats, a resilient clamping member carried by the body portion and coacting with said seats, and means extending transversely of the cross tie for exerting an upward pressure on said clamping member.

2. A railroad cross tie including a hollow body portion provided with spaced rail seats, a clamping member housed within the body portion and having bifurcated terminals coacting with said seats for holding a rail therein, and means extending transversely of the cross tie for exerting an upward pressure on the intermediate portion of the clamping member to force the bifurcated terminals thereof against the base flanges of the rails.

3. A railroad cross tie including a substantially U-shaped body portion having laterally extended supporting flanges, bed plates rigidly secured to said supporting flanges and provided with upstanding lugs defining seats for the reception of a rail, a resilient clamping member disposed within the body of the tie and adapted to bear against the rail seats and the base flanges of the rails supported on said seats, andmeans extending beneath the rail clamping member for regulating the tension thereof.

4. A railroad cross tie including a hollow body portion substantially U-shaped in cross section and having its upper longitudinal edges bent laterally to form supporting flanges and its bottom wall provided with depending anchoring lugs, bed plates extending transversely of the body portion and rigidly secured to the supporting flanges thereof, each bed plate being provided with an upstruck overhanging lug spaced from the upper surface of the plate to form a seat for the reception of a rail, a downwardly bowed clamping member housed within the body portion and having its ends bifurcated to form clamping ears adapted to embrace the lower faces of the bed plates and base flanges of the rails supported on said plates, and a wedge-shaped member extending transversely through the body portion and bearing against the intermediate portion of the clamping member.

5. A railroad cross tie including a body portion formed of a single sheet of metal bent into substantially u-shape in cross section and having its upper longitudinal edges bent laterally to form supporting flanges and its bottom wall provided with spaced incisions and the metal between said incisions bent downwardly to produce depending anchoring lugs, transverse bed plates rigidly secured to the supporting flanges and each provided with an upstruck overhanging lug spaced from the upper surface of the adjacent plate to form a seat for the reception of a rail, a downwardly bowed clamping member arrangedwithin the body portion and having its ends provided with means coacting with the lugs for retaining the rails in their seats, and means extend ing transversely through the body portion and bearing against the lower face of the clamping member for exerting an upward pressure thereon.

6. The combination with a hollow metallic cross tie provided with seats, of rails engaging said seats, a clamping member disposed between said seats and having its ends provided with means for engagement with the base flanges of the adjacent rails, and means extending transversely of the cross tie for exerting an upward pressure on the intermediate portion of the clamping member whereby to hold the rails firmly to their seats.

7. The combination with a hollow metallic cross tie provided with rail seats and having transversely alined openings formed in the body thereof at substantially the center of the tie, of rails engaging said seats, a clownwardly bowed rlamping' member interposed between the rails and having its opposite ends bifurcated to form spaced ears adapted to bear against the adjacent base flanges of the rails, and a wedge-shaped member slidably mounted in the openings in the tie and bearing against the intermediate portion of the clamping member for normally exerting an upward pressure thereon thereby to clamp therails to their seats.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

v LOUIS LEVENTRY. L $.1- 

